


Thrawn’s last argument

by Pureblood_Slytherin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 00:05:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16799740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pureblood_Slytherin/pseuds/Pureblood_Slytherin
Summary: And to kiss her then had been a much wiser decision than to start another argument, thought the future Emperor Mitth'raw'nuruodo.





	Thrawn’s last argument

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Последний аргумент Трауна](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/436897) by Aequia. 



**A/N:** _Another translation of a fanfiction written by the wonderful author[Aequia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aequia). This is the product of my train-ride back home. In this translation, I took a bit more artistic freedom than in "Deal with the Devil", but I hope I did not change it too much. Please enjoy! :)_

**Thrawn’s last argument**

Leia had chosen a blue dress that was marvellously in tone with the Grand Admiral’s skin. White in blue, blue in white - a beautiful pair. Today, they would not only be seen by the locals, waving up to the luxurious balcony of the Felucian castle, but by the whole Galaxy. And only the Force knew what their reaction would be.

Still, Leia was calm. She looked out of the window and overlooked the endless ocean, while stroking her belly; swallowing bitter, blue berries from Xillie. During pregnancy, her taste had changed so much that at first, it had scared her: She wanted bitterness, instead of sweetness, burning hot, instead of warm, dry and sharp, instead of juicy and soft. It seemed like, at least subconsciously, she chose to eat what was necessary for a wild and desperate struggle for survival, as if repeating the Chiss’ challenging history.

Thrawn had been unmoved by her worries and had assured her that everything was in order and that the Force itself told her what the body needed to carry out such a special child. He was sure it would be a boy, and had already chosen a difficult to pronounce, but very noble Chiss name for the child. Leia, however, did not quite agree and secretly longed for a girl with a simple, but powerful name like her own. But this was still far away – as was the end of this evening.

_Would the Remnants of the Empire and the Alliance accept their new leader?_

_But did they really have a choice?_ The former princess of Alderaan smiled coldly. The “Eclipse” and “Lusankia” should be more than sufficient arguments to guarantee their compliance…

For six months now, Leia, formerly Organa, now Nuruodo, carried the child of Grand Admiral Thrawn under her heart - and if one year ago someone would have told her about how her life and her perspective on the universe would change, she might have strangled him with her bare hands.

Everything that had happened, strongly contradicted common sense, logic, honour and politics – but it had happened nonetheless.

***

ONE YEAR AGO

The endless battle with the Remnants of the Empire had brought the Alliance to the verge of complete exhaustion if not extinction and in order to prevent further, unnecessary bloodshed, Grand Admiral Thrawn had, despite the Empire’s numerical advantage, offered a truce.

“I have only one condition, gentlemen,” the Chiss’ eyes suddenly flashed up. “I insist on Lady Leia Vader as a negotiation partner. As his Lordship's daughter, I am certain she possesses the necessary intelligence and integrity to make the right decisions.”

And with that single, simple phrase he had revealed the Princess’ most terrible secret. A secret that suddenly questioned everything she had lived and fought for. A quiet whisper passed through the hall, and the young woman felt extremely uneasy, seeing the misunderstanding, outrage and, yes – contempt, in the eyes of the people she had considered “close”. She saw a lot in their eyes, except acceptance and respect.

Now, it seemed, she had to pay dearly for keeping her secret. Luke had never really forgiven her for the indifference she had shown towards their father’s fate. Pretense and indifference, that had been the two main things behind which she had hidden her doubts, tears and pain, which had torn her heart apart every since she had learned the awful truth. She had sacrificed everything for the Alliance: Her past as well as her future. _Had it all been in vain now?_

Leia gathered all her strength when she began to talk as strictly as possible, and focussed on the need to assemble a larger committee on both sides to clarify all the details and other things politicians in such situations usually talked about. The Grand Admiral listened calmly, with a half smile on his thin lips, but remained adamant.

A fact, which of course, aroused a lot of suspicions, so that Luke immediately decided to accompany the Princess, which Thrawn did not object to, but, on the contrary, supported. But Han’s attempt to join the delegation was categorically dismissed. And Leia could not blame the Chiss - Solo was truly unbearable in decent society, especially if the before mentioned was considered “the enemy”.

“You have half an hour to make a decision, gentlemen,” the Grand Admiral said politely. “Then, I will either send a shuttle for Lady Vader and her brother or a few Star Destroyers to quickly resolve the contradictions that divide us. The choice, as always, is yours. It was an honour talking to you.” The image of the Chiss shook and then went out, leaving Leia in utter confusion.

A terrible noise arose around her, and Leia felt like she was close to losing consciousness. In such situations, she usually screamed the loudest, but not this time. She remained quiet and watched the others because this was about her and indeed it was very informative to see the look on their faces when they pondered about sending her off to the enemy’s den. For that itself she could not blame them as it was indeed better and – logical - to risk one person (or two) instead of everyone. But what had happened afterwards, was striking in its dishonesty – friends looking away, quietly whispering something, many nodding in agreement – they had decided and knew what to do, but no one dared to voice his decision. Even Mon Mothma remained quiet. Apparently, nobody wanted to be the one to send their heroes to their certain death, even if they were Sith children.

In the end, it was Luke who ended this farce by taking his sister’s hand, quickly pulling her towards the exit. Han had tried to join them, but for some reason, the others had held him back. Only a couple of minutes later, the twins’ shuttle was already on its way to the hangar and it was then that Leia noticed the smuggler’s blurry silhouette in the background. It would be the last time she would ever see him.

***

On the "Chimera" they were greeted royally and placed in the ship’s best guest quarters and even Leia, who in general was rather accustomed to luxury found herself surprised by the extravagance and lavish furnishing of her suite. How could such splendour find its way on a warship? What for? And it also bared proof of a Commander with demanding taste and unlimited budget.

"Yes, he seems to be a real aesthete," Leia added to a conversation with Luke, but little did she knew that what was meant as a joke, was true indeed.

***

Several hours after their arrival, they were brought before the Grand Admiral, who then invited them to have dinner with him, which too turned out to be exceptionally good.  
At first, Leia was almost too afraid to eat, but Luke reassured her that the food was not poisoned.

***

Later on, the Grand Admiral sat in his chair as if it were a throne, with a huge table in front of it, on which many datapads lay, neatly piled up in the shape of a pyramid.

He was calm, which somehow alerted the Princess even more and she didn’t dare to take her eyes off him. Her tension, of course, did not go unnoticed.  
“For me, you are, first of all, the children of Lord Vader and only secondly members of the Rebel Alliance. This galaxy needs to be rescued, and you, Skywalker, have turned out to be its saviour more than once.”  
There was a small smile on his lips, and Luke returned his smile and couldn’t help feeling little proud, even if the words were uttered by an unlikely admirer. Leia’s eyes became more good-natured too, however, her distrust did not disappear that easily. None of this escaped the Chiss, but he did not comment on any of it.

“At the moment the main threat for the Galaxy is the resurrected Emperor. And he needs to be eliminated. Not because he is mad, or a Sith or a fake.” His gaze met Leia’s. “But because he puts his personal interests above those of the Empire, the galaxy, which makes him the worst kind of ruler. He has to be destroyed, for the good of society.”

 _What a bright and selfless thought - it was necessary._ From that point of view, Leia had not yet looked at the situation.  
Thrawn presented these arguments as clear as heaven itself and the Princess found it hard if not impossible to argue with him because there was seldom a need to agree as he spoke in truths as unshakable as the universe itself. His mind, his reasoning, his logic often seemed like the only light in the darkness of the chaos that swept through the galaxy.

The main role in the genius’ plan was assigned to Luke, who at least in theory should have rejected this idea immediately.  
Everything sounded quite simple and straightforward: become a student of the Emperor, and then kill the teacher. It was the Sith’ way after all, and with that also the fact which worried Leia the most. Perhaps she was more afraid of Luke turning into another Vader than she was willing to admit ...  
At one point Leia almost screamed. It was when she saw her father’s Force Ghost appear in the far corner of the hall, and she didn’t care at all that he looked like Anakin Skywalker in his youth. He and Luke lengthily talked about the Force and after their conversation, her brother, for whatever reason, actually agreed to Thrawn’s outrages plan.

“I beg your pardon, Princess? We are on the same side, are we not?” Thrawn had a surprisingly pleasant voice, which felt like it would be more appropriate on the stage than in real life.

“Your words are reasonable, and no matter how difficult it is for me to admit it, I share your goals. However, the risk is too high. How can we be certain that this is not a trap of yours?”

“I give you my word, Princess.” the Chiss said quietly. “This is not a trap. And my word should be sufficient.”

 _What arrogance!_ Leia thought and was taken aback and silent for at least a minute. On the other hand, this was so Thrawn - decisive, calm, reasonable and without unnecessary preludes or information.

“Suppose we agree. What is the next price we have to pay for your truce? What exactly are your terms, Grand Admiral?”

“It does not matter, Lady Vader.” He smiled sardonically, and his cool demeanour made the Princess shudder. “As there is no truce anymore. You see, your precious Alliance violated our agreement and your negotiation by taking advantage of a very attractive chance to attack from behind.”

The Grand Admiral pressed a button and a wall panel opened to a huge observation window, behind which there were explosions of bright dots. There was a space battle going on with all its might and destruction. It was difficult to make out anything in particular, but one thing was clear – they had been betrayed. The question was, by whom?

“You're lying,” Leia said quietly, but sharply. “The Alliance would never break its promise ...”

“I confess, I had hoped for the veracity of your colleagues too, still I was quite prepared for a different outcome,” the Chiss spoke with some boredom in his voice, like a man tired of anticipating everyone and everything.

Looking closer, Leia noticed how Thrawn’s fleet evenly pinched the Alliance’s forces from different sides, systematically taking them apart, piece-by-piece. She also noticed a Star Destroyer that was very close to them and looked exactly like the "Chimera."  
But if that was the Grand Admiral's ship out there - where were they now? Apparently, the surprise was written all over her face, as the Chiss calmly remarked: “I have several ships, Princess. That makes it hard to catch me... I am everywhere at the same time.” His velvet voice sounded ominous and gradually Leia began to see the trap her friends fell into.

In the end, there was little left to save. And once Admiral Akbar’s ship had jumped into hyperspace, the rest swiftly followed, while feverishly retreating, trying to save their lives.

“What a waste.” the Grand Admiral shook his head. “Sending your men into certain death is quite irresponsible…. would you not agree, my lady?”  
He came closer to Leia. Very close, and the last words he practically whispered into her ear. Leia wasn’t sure whether he talked about the pilots who had just died in battle or Luke and her. Yes, they had sacrificed them too. Leia forced herself not to think about it. It was not important now! But she had also no idea what she could do now? Abandoned and betrayed. Left with the enemy.

“You somehow provoked them,” she started. Trying to make sense of it all. “I – I just don’t believe you, Thrawn!”  
Leia turned sharply around and poked her finger at his chest.  
He just smiled, carefully took her hand and then raised it to his lips. His light and, for some reason, very hot kiss, burned on her fingers and made it impossible to think.

“I assure you, Princess, it was their decision. However, if you need proof, I will order to contact the Alliance immediately.”  
“Give the order.” Leia said and tried to sound as firmly as possible, before abruptly pulling her hand away. It was, of course, very impolite, but she was beyond caring. This was war, and the more time she spend with Thrawn, the more he infuriated her. He was too smart, too strong, had excellent manners and taste and at the same time, was completely unpredictable!

There was a comlink squeak, and then Mon Mothma's holo image appeared. The Grand Admiral stood in the shadows, so that he was not visible in the Holo recording.

“Leia! ... Luke! ... How did you manage to get in touch? Are you ... still alive? Where are you? If Lando is close by, I am certain...” The older woman spoke quickly and almost whispered, anxiety slipping into her voice.

“What happened? Why was there a space battle? What did the Empire do? Did they provoke you?” Leia asked calmly, but wanted to scream.

The senator remained silent for a suspiciously long time, which in itself already provided an answer to many of the questions.

“We saw the chance we had been waiting for for so long ...” Mon Mothma began in a trembling voice.

“We wanted to strike unexpectedly and capture the 'Chimera' while Thrawn was busy negotiating. We wanted to remove this overly self-confident alien from the playing field once and for all. But the bastard had a trump card in his sleeve in the form of two identical Star Destroyers that suddenly emerged as soon as we had left hyperspace. General Solo and many others barely managed to activate their shields as they launched a full-scale attack. As far as I know, there has been no sign of Solo yet. Leia, Luke, you have to get out of there as soon as possible!”

Suddenly, the image shook and then disappeared. Probably because their ship had gone into hyperspace again. And Leia felt nothing – there were no emotions left and nothing to say and only a pressing emptiness inside of her remained.

“You see ... I told you the truth.,” the Chiss bowed slightly and a rather contented smile appeared on his face. “They wanted to get rid of me so desperately, they were ready to sacrifice even you. And I confess, I am undecided yet of who was sold cheaply here.” He looked at Leia straightforwardly and his look seemed to burn right through her.

She should have been angry with him, but she only lowered her head in a defeated gesture. Yes, her world had collapsed and his trap had slammed shut.

“And yet ... what I need are Skywalker allies, not prisoners,” began the Grand Admiral. “I will not hold you by Force — Even if I did, you would probably sill find a way to escape. Instead, I want you to think about what is more important to you: Your ideals or the lives of billions of people? The galaxy needs to be merged and restored, and if things progress the way they are now, there will not be much left to fight for.”

***

It was hard to disagree with his words, however, Leia tried. For a whole month, the Grand Admiral came every evening and showed his position from various sides. Luke had been convinced after just three evenings and now supported Thrawn entirely. Leia, however, still resisted.  
_How could she ever support the Empire?_ Simultaneously, she could not help but admit that her disputes the with Grand Admiral gave her a certain pleasure – in another lifetime, the Chiss would have made a great politician, Leia thought. He knew how to find the right words and how to utter them in the right tone. He applied logic and reason and Leia enjoyed such civilized, cultivated talks and had had very few opportunities for them during the last years of the civil war. And he never seemed to be bored by her audacity and stubbornness. If anything he found it amusing, and explained his reason to her as if she were a small child - again and again. Still, Leia couldn’t help it, there were firm doubts in her heart.

***

One evening, Leia somehow found herself in front of Thrawn’s quarters. She had come up with another ingenious counter-argument, which she just had to throw into the Chiss’ flawless face.

The Grand Admiral sat, as usual, behind a huge desk and looked a little tired. He was honestly surprised by her appearance and, gracefully arching an eyebrow, asked in a low, velvet voice “And why did you come here, Princess?”.

Her confidence almost immediately disappeared.  
_Yes, why had she come here? She should just leave. Quietly without making a fuss._ But her pride, as always, did not allow it.

“I found an argument to which you have no answer, Grand Admiral.” She said and added some pathos to her voice.

He got up from the chair and came closer to the Princess, too close. She had to throw her head back to look up to him…. _No, she would not look away!_

“Really?” The Grand Admiral asked mockingly. “Let me start then.”

With that, he claimed her lips in a passionate, yet unbearably tender kiss, while cautiously pushing her hands behind her back, so that she could not break free. However, Leia was so surprise by his sudden move that she didn’t even try. His lips were hot and sweet, and he definitely knew what he was doing. If she would have had the time to push him off before starting to like it, everything might have ended differently, but that had not been the case and therefore she soon lost herself in the kiss, before lightly biting his lower lip.

The Chiss pulled back a little, while still squeezing her wrists with one hand. His other hand had already disentangled the Princess’ complicated hairstyle, which in turn now allowed him to playfully run his hand through her long hair. Leia had no idea why she allowed him all this and the only justification she could come up with was that everything had happened too quickly.

“So ... it seemed like you wanted to say something, Princess?”  
He looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to make the next step. Leia tried to free herself from the sweet captivity of his hands, but in the end only rubbed the back of her head against his strong palm, which made her look more like a pet craving caresses than a captive longing for freedom. So, all in all, that strategy had turned out badly.

“No, I ... I’ve changed my mind...” Leia whispered quickly, hoping that that would end their ‘conversation’.

“Well ... I have not,” his lips covered hers again, and then he easily lifted her up and carried her somewhere, without ceasing to cover the Princess’ neck and shoulders with kisses, from which she tried to hide, but to no avail.

“What... what are you doing?! Sith, damn it!” She blurted out angrily, vaguely suspecting that the evening would not end well. Or was quite the opposite true?

“I am going to convince you ... in all known ways ... until you fully and unconditionally admit that I am right,” he said innocently, while opening the doors to a luxurious bedroom, furnished in dark colours.

“And what ... if I already do?” She tired, sincerely believing that he was just provoking her.

Thrawn abruptly stopped and looked into her eyes, and then, copying her intonation, replied:

“I do not believe you, Princess … And my ideals do not allow me to quickly give up on decisions once made.” He frankly mocked her, while carefully laying her down on the bed.

“Alright. I SERIOUSLY ... admit that ..." Leia began, but then a treacherous moan escaped her lips when the Chiss ran the tip of his tongue along her neck, like a predator tasting its victim.

“Admit what ...?” His hot breath caused a sweet shiver in her body, threatening whatever was left of her composure.

“I. Admit. That. You. Are. Right.” She said very clearly, and then added an “Always” - just in case.

Thrawn looked at her with interest, awe and not without amusement, literally devouring her with his eyes, which now burned insanely bright. He bent forward for another kiss, which, to Leia’s surprise she answered right away. Perhaps expecting that it would be the last.

He let go of her arms and then he got up a little, leaning on his elbows, his hips, however, he pressed closer to hers.

“What the ...? But I admitted...” She hissed angrily.

“... that I am right. Always. That includes right now.” The Chiss made a barely noticeable thrust with his hips, which allowed Leia to feel his growing tension.

“And I would like to hear a sincere confirmation of this coming from your lips, Princess”. His voice alone almost made her lose her mind. “You do not want me to stop, do you?”  
His hands skilfully opened her dress; finally depriving her of her last argument.

In anticipation of her own defeat, Leia closed her eyes.

***

A YEAR LATER

Now she stood at the window and eagerly inhaled the fresh air. Another berry on her lips, washing away last year’s memories. A gorgeous woman with long dark hair and bright eyes who only in appearances resembled the little girl in the white dress that had been ready to die for her ideals. Leia had become wiser, softer, and, for some reason, happier.

The baby pushed joyfully, making her smile.

“My sweet.” Leia whispered softly. “When you are born, there will be peace and freedom in your galaxy. And your father will be a just ruler who will bring development, prosperity and greatness to his Empire...”

Thrawn was about to leave, when he heard the whispers of his Princess, causing a sly half-smile on his face. In the end, he had tamed the wild cat named Leia, and he was indeed very pleased with himself. It had been a very exciting battle, although it had taken place on a different battlefield entirely. She had come to him herself. With burning eyes and an open heart. And to kiss her then had been a much wiser decision than to start another argument, thought the future Emperor Mitth'raw'nuruodo.

**THE END**


End file.
